AMR unions want to take a chance on U.S. Air merger
April 23, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives
Description: Labor groups at bankrupt American Airlines said on Friday they support a potential merger with rival US Airways Group Inc in a deal they say would save more jobs than a plan by parent AMR Corp to reorganize as a stand-alone carrier.
Source: Reuters.com
Date: 04/21/2012
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/21/us-american-unions-idUSBRE83J0WG20120421
Questions for discussion:
- Summarize the issues involved in this labor resolution.
- Do you think that each group has made a wise decision? Explain your thinking.
Nokia: The Finnish RIM
Description: Mobile device makers Nokia and Research in Motion continue to struggle against Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android operating system.
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: 04/11/2012
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/markets/2012/04/11/mkts-bz-nokia-rimm.cnnmoney/
Questions for discussion:
- Do you think there is a strategic solution for either of these firms?
- How much blame lies with management? Explain.
Bribery law earns billions for the U.S.
April 16, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives
Description: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act brings in billions of dollars for the U.S. government by penalizing companies for corruption abroad.
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: 04/11/2012
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2012/04/11/n-cmr-fcpa.cnnmoney/
Questions for discussion:
- What are the issues presented in this report?
- Does the current law make sense?
- What are alternative solutions to government imposed financial penalties?
Why Practice Trumps Theory for Entrepreneurs
April 16, 2012 by Brahm Canzer
Filed under Part 1 Business in a Global Environment, Part 3 Management: Empowering People to Achieve Business Objectives
Description: Entrepreneur Ash Maurya has been building companies for over a decade, and during that time he’s always tried to find a better, faster way to build successful products. Maurya said he’s always had the entrepreneurial bug, and he attributes that to the way his parents raised him. He said his reason for staying an entrepreneur has evolved in stages – from building something awesome, to building a sustainable business, to finding purpose.
Source: Sprouter.com
Date: 04/11/2012
Questions for discussion:
- What does Maurya mean when he says that entrepreneurs have to fall in love with the problem, not the solution?
- What lesson are there in this report for entrepreneurs?
Best Buy CEO out as shoppers move online
Description: Best Buy Co Chief Executive Brian Dunn has left the world’s largest consumer electronics chain, which has struggled against stepped-up competition from internet retailers and discounters.
Source: Reuters.com
Date: 04/10/2012
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/10/bestbuy-idUSL2E8FA3ZK20120410
Questions for discussion:
- Is there a solution to this shopping trend working against Best Buy?
- What sort of manager is needed in this competitive environment?
Instagram’s Systrom Builds $1 Billion Application in Two Years
Description: Silicon Valley is one of the few places where a 27-year-old Web entrepreneur can parlay a photo-sharing application with no known source of revenue into $1 billion — in two years.
Source: Bloomberg.com
Date: 04/10/2012
Questions for discussion:
- Do you think the background experience of these two entrepreneurs had anything to do with their success this time?
- What factors contributed to the rapid adoption rate of the product by users?
- How will Facebook be able to monetize this product?
Avon, 125 years old
Description: Avon Products, the iconic door-to-door cosmetic seller, celebrates 125 years in business, Felicia Taylor reports.
Source: CNNMoney.com – video report
Date: 04/02/2012
Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011/03/09/n_avon_taylor.cnnmoney/
Questions for discussion:
- What does the Avon brand represent to women today?
- What are the benefits to Avon’s participation in social causes?
Hostess Serves New Batch of Cuts
Description: If negotiations fail, Hostess and its unions will face off in a trial over whether the company can scrap its labor contracts-an example of how wage levels across many once-vibrant industries are falling. Mike Spector reports on Markets Hub. Photo: Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images.
Source: Marketwatch.com – video report
Date: 04/02/2012
Questions for discussion:
- Summarize the main points presented in this report.
- What are some possible resolutions that you would put forward as a labor conciliator?
Online Movies Set to Overtake DVDs and Blu-rays
Description: Web-based movie download and rental services, coupled with tablets and connected TVs, have led to greater online movie consumption
Source: emarketer.com
Date: 04/02/2012
Link: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008945&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4
Questions for discussion:
- Summarize the changes taking place.
- What are the reasons for these changes?
- How would you suggest the industry respond?
Is your company like ‘The Hunger Games?’
Description: (MoneyWatch) Many of us have been there. Your company decided to do “stretch goals,” or, if an executive had recently read a Jim Collins book, “BHAGs” (big, hairy, audacious goals). Someone — often a senior executive — may have encouraged you to “treat it like a game,” and “make it fun.” The tag line is: even if we get to 50 percent of the goal, we’ll be in great shape. Its high-fives all around as people set insanely high goals, just to show people (and themselves) what they can do.
Source: Moneywatch.com
Date: 03/29/2012
Link: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-57405962/is-your-company-like-the-hunger-games/?tag=nl.e664
Questions for discussion:
- What are the managerial issues described in this report?
- How do they compare to textbook models of behavior?
